Lots of Birthday Fun
by WinterSky101
Summary: In which Yuri's friends and family all conspire to make sure he has a wonderful sixteenth birthday. Post-season 1.


At exactly midnight, Yuri's phone dings to alert him to a new text. He's not asleep yet, even though he should be, so he picks up the phone and checks to see who's texting.

 **Text from Otabek:** Happy birthday.

Yuri squints at his phone for a moment, then scowls to keep from smiling.

 **Text from Yuri:** what the hell are you doing up?

 **Text from Yuri:** it's three in the morning in almaty

 **Text from Yuri:** go to sleep you idiot

 **Text from Otabek:** I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.

Yuri definitely doesn't get a warm fuzzy feeling at the thought of Otabek staying up until three just to wish him a happy birthday. There are no fuzzy feelings at all, nothing of the sort.

 **Text from Yuri:** you're an idiot

 **Text from Otabek:** Goodnight, Yura.

 **Text from Otabek:** Happy birthday.

Yuri puts his phone on his nightstand and shoves his face into his pillow. He's not smiling. He doesn't care about Otabek waiting up to say happy birthday to him, and he definitely doesn't like it when Otabek calls him Yura. He doesn't even really care that it's his birthday.

Then he reaches out and grabs his phone again, sending off one more text before he goes to sleep.

 **Text from Yuri:** thanks beka

* * *

"Yuratchka!" a voice calls, dragging Yuri from his sleep.

"Ugh, let me sleep, _ded_ ," Yuri groans, then he blinks and realizes what he just said. He jerks upright in his bed and looks around to confirm that, yes, he's still in the spare bedroom in Yakov's apartment in Saint Petersburg. So why is his grandfather, who lives in Moscow, calling him and waking him up?

"Happy birthday, Yuratchka!" Nikolai calls when Yuri staggers out of the bedroom, looking around wildly.

" _Ded_?" Yuri repeats. "I thought- You're supposed to be in Moscow!"

"I took the train here this morning," Nikolai says. "Your coach picked me up from the station and dropped me off here before going to the rink."

Yuri rushes forward and grabs Nikolai in a tight hug, remembering to be careful of his bad back. "Thank you for coming," he mumbles into his grandfather's chest.

"Of course I came!" Nikolai cries. "I couldn't miss my grandson's sixteenth birthday!"

"Is that pirozhki?" Yuri asks, seeing a steaming platter on the table.

"I made more of the katsudon pirozhki you liked in Moscow," Nikolai says. "And I have the recipe for your friend, like he asked."

Yuri pauses, pirozhki halfway to his mouth. "Friend?"

"The Japanese skater," Nikolai replies. "His name is Yuri as well, isn't it?"

"Yuuri," Yuri corrects automatically, because he hates it when people say they have the same name when they don't (and ignores the fact that he thought they had the same name before he went to Japan and heard the minute pronunciation differences). "And he's not my friend!"

Nikolai blinks. "I thought he was engaged to Nikiforov, and you were friends with both of them?"

"I'm not friends with stupid Viktor either!" Yuri complains. He shoves a pirozhki in his mouth, wondering irritably how Yuuri was even able to ask his grandfather for the katsudon pirozhki recipe. As far as he knows, they've never even spoken.

Of course, because the world hates him, Yuri's phone dings at that moment. He pulls it out of his pocket, definitely not hoping it'll be Otabek again, and finds a much less welcome text instead.

 **Text from Viktor:** HAPPY BIRTHDAY YURIO!

His phone dings again, showing that Viktor has followed up with a long string of emojis. Yuri groans and is about to shove his phone away when it dings again.

 **Text from Yuuri:** Happy birthday, Yurio! I hope you have a nice day! Give your grandfather my best!

"Stupid old man, stupid pork cutlet bowl," Yuri mutters, stuffing his phone in his pocket again.

"What was that?" Nikolai asks, sitting down next to Yuri at the table.

"Nothing," Yuri replies, eating another pirozhki.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Nikolai asks. "Your coach said you were supposed to come in for some training, but he didn't know if you had anything else you were going to do."

"It's not going to be training," Yuri corrects. "It's supposed to be a surprise party. But they do this every year for everyone's birthday, so it's not a surprise anymore."

"That's very nice of them," Nikolai says with a smile. "I'm glad you have such good friends here."

"They're not my friends," Yuri mutters petulantly.

Nikolai's smile turns knowing. "Of course not, Yuratchka," he murmurs. "More pirozhki?"

Yuri eats far more than he should, but even the thought of Yakov yelling at him about not following his diet isn't enough to stop him from eating the pirozhki. Anyway, it's his birthday. He deserves to be able to eat what he wants on his birthday.

"Will you come to the rink with me?" Yuri asks when he's done eating. It's almost ten, and he's supposed to be at the rink at ten-thirty. Even though it's not a real practice, he knows he has to be there on time. Anyway, he's determined to be better at coming in on time than Viktor and Yuuri, so he needs to always be there just when he's supposed to be (unlike the two of them, who've gotten into the habit of wandering in late, giggling and being even more disgusting than usual).

"Of course I will," Nikolai replies. "You should go get dressed so you're ready to go."

Yuri gets dressed in his usual black pants and shirt, grabbing his Team Russia jacket to put on top. When he gets back to the kitchen, he sees Nikolai filling up a large bag with pirozhki. "What's that for?" he asks.

"I thought your friends might like some pirozhki too," Nikolai says. He tucks a piece of paper in the bag. Yuri assumes it's the recipe for Yuuri. "Since you can't cook for them, I thought I would."

"I can cook," Yuri protests halfheartedly. He's not very good at cooking and both of them know it.

"We should go," Nikolai says instead of getting into an argument. Yuri lets it go - but only because it's his grandfather - and they head out to the rink. It's not far from Yakov's apartment, which Yuri is pretty sure is the only reason Yakov chose that apartment. It only takes them a few minutes to get there.

"HE'S HERE!" Georgi yells the second Yuri walks through the front doors. Yuri hears frantic scrambling and the scrape of blades on ice. Nikolai smiles as they open the doors to the rink.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YURI!" everyone choruses in Russian. Viktor and Georgi are holding up a banner that shows a horribly-drawn tiger wishing him a happy birthday, and Mila and Yuuri are holding a cake in front of them. Yakov isn't on the ice, and he has his usual long-suffering look on his face, but Yuri knows him well enough to see the fondness there. Lilia is standing next to him and _almost_ smiling. It's the closest she's likely to get.

"Who drew that tiger?" Yuri demands. "Have any of you ever seen a tiger in your life?"

"Yura!" Nikolai scolds, but Viktor laughs brightly. Yuri should have known he drew it. None of them can draw, but Viktor is the only one who would attempt it anyway.

"I knew you would love it, Yurio!" he says, beaming. "He loves it," he adds to Yuuri in English.

"I don't know if he does, Vitya," Yuuri murmurs, the corner of his lip curling up to betray his smile. Even though he probably didn't fully understand Yuri's critique of the tiger, since he said it in Russian, the tone was obvious enough.

"You don't know him well enough, but I do, and I'm sure he loves it," Viktor tells Yuuri. "Don't you, Yurio?"

"That's not my name, you idiot!" Yuri yells, but he yells it at least somewhat fondly.

"I brought pirozhki for you," Nikolai says, clearly trying to apologize for Yuri's behavior.

"Is it the famous katsudon pirozhki?" Mila asks, skating up to the edge of the rink. "I want some!"

"You're all supposed to be on a diet! Worlds is at the end of the month!" Yakov bellows.

"It would be rude to refuse," Viktor replies, trying to look as pathetic as possible. Yuri thinks he always looks pathetic, but if he's trying to get Yakov to give in, he's going to have to do better than that.

"Just one?" Georgi asks, his lower lip quivering a little. Yuri is pretty sure he's not actually going to burst into tears over pirozhki, but you can never quite tell with Georgi, and when he does start crying, he never stops.

"One each," Yakov grumbles, apparently deciding to play it safe. Yuri is definitely not going to tell Yakov about how many pirozhki he ate for breakfast.

"And the cake?" Mila asks, gesturing at Yuuri, who's still holding it. "Come on, Yakov, it's Yuri's birthday! We have to have cake!"

"If any of you gain weight, you'll regret it!" Yakov blusters. Everyone but Yuuri beams, knowing that means they've won.

"Come on, Yuuri!" Viktor trills, grabbing Yuuri's arm and pulling him over to the edge of the rink.

"Um…" Yuuri ducks his head. He hasn't been at the rink long enough to know Yakov like the rest of them do, and he probably didn't fully understand Yakov's words and only heard his angry tone. Yuri thinks Yakov enjoys having someone take his threats seriously for once. "I don't think I should-"

"Don't get shy about eating now, piggy," Yuri calls. "It's my birthday, it's not about you. Eat some damn cake."

"We got you presents!" Mila chirps, pointing at a small pile of gifts on the table.

Nikolai elbows Yuri gently. "What do you say?"

"Thank you," Yuri mutters, but only because he knows his grandfather will be disappointed if he doesn't.

"Open them!" Viktor urges, grabbing Yuri's arm and dragging him to the table. Yuri is continually shocked when he remembers that, of all the skaters at the rink, Viktor is actually the oldest.

The presents are as follows: A tiger-print t-shirt from Georgi, a gift card from Mila, and a wonderfully soft cat hoodie from Viktor and Yuuri. Nikolai makes sure that Yuri thanks everyone after he opens their gift.

"We have another gift, if you want it," Yuuri adds while Georgi and Mila are off eating the pirozhki. Even if he weren't wrapped around Viktor like a PDA-obsessed octopus, Yuri would know exactly who he meant by "we."

"What is it?" Yuri asks cautiously.

"Viktor told me that in Russia, the person who's birthday it is traditionally supplies the food for the party," Yuuri explains. "But in Japan, treating someone to dinner is a common birthday gift. So Viktor and I were wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight."

"Yuuri's going to cook," Viktor adds eagerly. "He can make katsudon!"

"And Viktor's going to bake, right?" Yuuri adds. There's something a bit pointed to the way he asks the question. Yuri wonders if they've been arguing over it, although he can't really imagine the two of them arguing at all.

"I'm making medovik!" Viktor agrees happily. "We can have a nice birthday meal! Your grandfather will come too, of course."

Yuri only takes a second to make his decision. He doesn't _want_ to have dinner with Viktor and Yuuri (obviously, because he hates them), but he does want katsudon and medovik, so he supposes he can bear it for one night. "Okay, but don't do anything gross in front of my grandpa."

"Of course not!" Viktor replies easily, which means they'll definitely do gross things in front of Yuri's grandfather. Yuri's fairly certain trying to get Viktor and Yuuri not to be disgusting is a losing battle.

"Come over at six," Yuuri says.

"As long as my grandpa doesn't have any other plans," Yuri quickly adds, because for all he knows his grandfather has already made dinner plans.

"I'll go ask him," Yuuri says. He steps up to Nikolai and, in halting and clumsy Russian, asks if he wants to come over for dinner. Nikolai, in equally halting and clumsy English, replies that he and Yuri would love to. Yuuri bows and Nikolai, looking confused, tentatively bows back. Viktor laughs and swoops in to smooth things over.

"Did they invite you over?" Mila asks.

"Are you going to be there too?" Yuri immediately asks, because that would be a deal breaker, regardless of any promised katsudon or medovik.

"No," Mila replies, shaking her head. "Family only."

"They're not my family, hag," Yuri hisses angrily.

"I just heard Viktor teaching Yuuri how to ask your grandfather to dinner," Mila continues, completely ignoring Yuri. "They've been practicing all morning."

Yuri is most definitely _not_ touched to hear that. It's only polite, after all, and it's Yuuri's own fault for not speaking Russian.

"Yuratchka!" Nikolai calls, giving Yuri a perfect excuse to escape Mila. "Your friends-"

"Not my friends," Yuri mutters. He's ignored.

"-Have asked us to come over at six. What do you want to do until then?"

Yuri checks the clock. It's eleven, meaning they have seven hours until they have to be at Viktor and Yuuri's. "We could go see a movie," he offers.

"Whatever you want," Nikolai agrees, handing Yuri the bag with his presents.

"We'll see you tonight, Yurio!" Viktor calls.

"That's not my name!" Yuri growls.

"Yurio?" Nikolai asks as they leave. "Where does that nickname come from?"

"Katsudon's stupid friends in Japan," Yuri mutters. "Apparently it was too hard for them to just call me Yuri."

"Hmm." Nikolai looks at Yuri, but he doesn't say anything. Yuri doesn't know what he's thinking, but if it's related to the stupid nickname, he doesn't want to. He brings up another topic as they go to the movie theater, and they chat without a single mention of stupid Viktor or stupid Yuuri or his stupid nickname.

* * *

After the movie, Yuri and Nikolai go to a restaurant and have a late lunch, and then Nikolai takes Yuri shopping and buys him a stuffed cat. They stop by Yakov's apartment to drop it off, along with the other gifts from earlier. Then they go to Viktor's apartment, which Yuri is both looking forward to (because katsudon and medovik) and dreading (because Viktor and Yuuri).

Makkachin pounces on Yuri the second he walks through the door. "Sorry!" Yuuri calls immediately, rushing forward and grabbing Makkachin's collar. Viktor, who opened the door for them, has done absolutely nothing to corral his dog and is instead laughing and shaking hands with Nikolai. He does take Makkachin's collar a moment later so Yuuri can shake hands with Nikolai and accept the katsudon pirozhki recipe. Yuri half wants to just translate for the two of them so he doesn't have to listen to their broken mess of English and Russian anymore.

"Dinner should be ready soon," Yuuri says in English. Viktor translates for Nikolai. "But Yuri, we have another surprise for you."

"What did you do?" Yuri asks warily.

Viktor picks up his iPad and turns it towards Yuri with a smile.

 _"I hope it's a welcome surprise,"_ Otabek says, waving awkwardly.

"Otabek!" Yuri gasps. "How-?"

 _"Nikiforov suggested that I call you for your birthday,"_ Otabek says with a shrug.

"Otabek, please, call me Viktor," Viktor calls from the other side of the room. In English, he adds, "Yurio, if you want to have some privacy, you can take Otabek into your room, but keep the door open." As if that's not bad enough, he adds a wink that Yuri is sure will feature in his nightmares.

"You're gross!" Yuri yells, but he yells it in English, because he doesn't want his grandfather to know what Viktor just implied. "And it's not my room!"

Viktor's tinkling laugh follows Yuri as he takes the iPad into the guest bedroom. It's not _his_ room, even though he's the reason for the tiger print bedsheets and he's got clothes in the dresser. He just uses the room more than anyone else, so it makes sense for him to keep the room ready. But it's not _his_ room.

 _"Have you had a nice birthday?"_ Otabek asks.

Yuri lies on the bed and props the iPad up on the pillows. "It's been pretty good. My grandfather came over from Moscow. He made me pirozhki."

 _"Ah, your grandfather's famous pirozhki."_ Otabek grins. _"Nikiforov mentioned that earlier. Apparently it's good."_

"Of course it's good, my grandfather made it!" Yuri snaps. Otabek raises his hands in surrender. "Then we went to the rink for the stupid surprise party that the others threw me."

 _"That was nice of them,"_ Otabek says mildly.

"It was stupid," Yuri repeats. "Viktor made me a stupid banner. He drew a tiger on it and it was so bad, Beka. It looked like a drunk blind man drew it."

 _"Send me a picture,"_ Otabek requests.

Yuri pulls out his phone, where he has one picture of everyone posing at the rink with the banner in the background. He texts it to Otabek. "See how horrible the tiger is!"

 _"You all look happy,"_ Otabek says, which is _not the point_.

"They made a cake," Yuri mutters begrudgingly. "It wasn't bad."

 _"Nikiforov said he got you a hoodie,"_ Otabek adds.

"With cat ears," Yuri agrees. "It's really soft."

 _"My present for you should get there soon,"_ Otabek says. _"I sent it this morning."_

"You didn't need to get me anything," Yuri says immediately, although he feels himself brightening up a little at the thought. "What is it?"

 _"You'll find out when you get it,"_ Otabek replies.

Yuri scowls. "What sort of answer is that?"

 _"The only one you'll get,"_ Otabek replies simply.

"Dinner will be ready soon!" Yuuri calls from the kitchen.

"You can bring your friend with you!" Viktor adds cheerfully. "We'd love to have Otabek at the table!"

"They'll probably be gross," Yuri warns.

 _"I'd like to be there anyway, if you're okay with it,"_ Otabek replies.

Of course Yuri is okay with it. Otabek can be an idiot sometimes. "Come meet my grandpa," he says, picking up the iPad and heading to the living room.

"Is this your friend?" Nikolai asks as Yuri sits down next to him on the couch, holding the iPad out so Otabek can see both of them.

"This is Otabek," Yuri says. "Otabek, this is my grandfather."

 _"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir,"_ Otabek says.

"The pleasure's all mine," Nikolai replies. "I'm glad to meet the boy who's making my grandson so happy."

" _Ded_!" Yuri protests.

"Dinner's ready!" Viktor trills, poking his head into the living room. "Hello again, Otabek! Will you be joining us?"

 _"If you don't mind,"_ Otabek replies, all politeness. Yuri doesn't understand how he does it.

"If I minded, I wouldn't have suggested it," Viktor dismisses. "You'll have to actually come down to Saint Petersburg sometime and really eat with us. Maybe you can visit after Worlds."

"Why would he want to visit you?" Yuri retorts.

"Yuratchka, be nice," Nikolai scolds.

 _"I'd love to visit,"_ Otabek says. Yuri notices that Otabek's looking at him when he says it, which makes him feel a little better about Otabek apparently wanting to willingly spend time with Viktor (never mind that Yuri is doing exactly that right now).

"Viktor, are you getting them?" Yuuri calls. Yuri can hear him setting the table.

"They're coming!" Viktor calls back. To Yuri, he adds, "I can set the iPad up on the table while you go wash your hands."

Yuri hands over the iPad and heads off to the bathroom while Viktor begins to chat with Otabek. He washes his hands quickly and goes to the kitchen, where Yuuri has set the table and Viktor has set up the iPad. Otabek is now at the head of the table, propped up against a vase.

 _"The food looks delicious,"_ he compliments.

"You'll have to come try it sometime," Yuuri says as he puts out four pork cutlet bowls. "Viktor, you're keeping an eye on the cake, right?"

"It's fine!" Viktor protests. "I can make medovik in my sleep, Yuuri. Don't worry about it."

"If you burn my cake, I'll burn your Yuuri poster," Yuri threatens.

Yuuri chokes. "Poster?" he repeats feebly.

"There's no poster," Viktor replies, giving Yuri a dirty look.

"It's in the closet," Yuri says. Yuuri looks like he's about two seconds from scrambling off to the closet, but Viktor grabs his arm and Nikolai comes in, so he stays put. Yuri sees Otabek watching them with an amused expression on his face and sticks his tongue out.

"Shall we eat?" Nikolai asks in slow English.

"I hope you like it!" Yuuri replies in Russian, gesturing at the table. Nikolai sits down at the table and Yuri sits next to him, deciding that it's better to have Viktor and Yuuri sit next to each other than have to sit next to one of them himself.

The katsudon is just as good as Yuri remembers it being in Hasetsu. Nikolai declares it "vkusno" and Yuuri beams. Otabek leaves before they finish eating and promises to text Yuri tomorrow. The cake is just as good as Viktor promises, although Yuri would never admit it.

"How long are you staying?" Yuri asks his grandfather after dinner is over, while they're sitting on the couch with Makkachin and ignoring the giggles coming from the kitchen.

"I'm going back to Moscow the day after tomorrow," Nikolai replies. "We can have another day together tomorrow."

"I'll have practice," Yuri says, which he's not particularly looking forward to. He's eaten way too much today. Yakov is going to be furious.

"Will I be allowed to watch?" Nikolai asks.

Yuri always skates Agape best when his grandfather is there, so he doesn't think Yakov will mind. "Yeah, sure."

Nikolai wraps an arm around Yuri's shoulders and pulls him in for a hug. "Did you have a nice birthday, Yuratchka?"

"I did, _ded_ ," Yuri agrees. He nestles a little closer. Makkachin is resting on his foot, Viktor and Yuuri are laughing in the kitchen, and his phone is buzzing with a goodnight text from Otabek. Yuri smiles a little, but only a little bit, and only because no one can see but his grandfather and the dog. "I did."


End file.
